Director of Academic Transitions

About Berry College:

Located on more than 27,000 acres in northwest Georgia in a setting of great natural beauty,Berry College has an enrollment of about 2,200 undergraduate and graduate students. The college is located in Rome, Georgia, 75 miles northwest of Atlanta and 75 miles south of Chattanooga, Tennessee. As a comprehensive liberal-arts college with a distinctive mission and purpose, Berry unites a challenging academic program with practical work experience in a context that nurtures spiritual and moral growth, including significant service to others.

We seek faculty who are committed to excellence as teachers-scholars-mentors and staff who are also committed to serving as mentors and supervisors for students who work on campus. Although not required, more than 90 percent of our students participate in our premier student work program. Employee benefits are competitive.

Job Description:

Berry College invites applications for the position of Director of the Academic Transitions. The College seeks a leader committed to building a vibrant experience for students from a wide range of disciplines, cultures, and academic backgrounds. In collaboration with other campus partners, the director will support first-year, second-year, and transfer students as they enter the Berry academic community and transition into their chosen fields of study.

The Director of Academic Transitions will be responsible for programming related to retention and academic success efforts for first-year, second-year, and transfer students as they plan toward timely graduation at Berry College. The director will lead the college’s longstanding first-year seminar, collaborating with faculty and peer mentors. In partnership with leaders from the Provost’s Office, the Academic Success Center, and the Center for Personal and Professional Development, the director will help deliver on Berry College’s promise to equip students as they make a plan for academic and personal success. A crucial team member in the division of Academic Services, the director will also contribute to broad-based retention efforts, including dynamic partnerships with colleagues in Student Affairs and other units of the college.

The director is expected to be well-versed in research regarding student development, high-impact practices in higher education, and student transitions in higher education. Candidates should have experience in, or the potential for, building an equitable and diverse academic environment.

Requirements:

Qualifications:

• Master’s degree required

• At least five years of experience in higher education

• Instructional experience at the college level

• Highly professional written and verbal communication skills

• Passion for mentoring students from a wide range of disciplines, cultures, and academic backgrounds is essential

• Eagerness to collaborate with faculty, staff, and students across departments and divisions

Additional Information:

Berry is a selective independent college of 2,100 located adjacent to Rome, GA, midway between Atlanta, GA, and Chattanooga, TN. Berry’s educational approach deliberately unites challenging academic programs with practical work experience in a residential campus community that encourages faith and emphasizes caring for the needs of others above self. This commitment to an “education of the head, heart and hands” remains as relevant today as when our founder instilled this ethic more than a century ago.

Nationally recognized for quality of learning and quality of life, Berry offers first-rate undergraduate degree programs in the sciences, humanities, arts and human sciences, as well as undergraduate and master’s level opportunities in business and teacher education. The College’s stunning 27,000-acre campus affords opportunities that cannot be duplicated elsewhere. Berry’s ongoing commitment is to provide exceptional educational experiences to talented students from a wide range of social and economic backgrounds.

Berry College offers competitive benefits and salary commensurate with qualifications and experience. An Equal Opportunity Institution, Berry complies with all applicable laws and provisions prohibiting discrimination in its educational and employment policies. Berry respects the essential dignity of all individuals and accordingly hires and promotes employees without regard to matters of personal identity such as ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation, and political affiliation.

Berry College is committed to ensuring facilities, programs, services, and activities are accessible to everyone, including those seeking employment at Berry College. Inquiries about interview or workplace accommodations are welcomed and can be directed to Wayne Phipps, Director of Human Resources, at 706.290.2698.

Berry College provides benefit options with no employee costs for medical, dental, disability, and life insurance, including spouse and dependents at a reduced rate.

Application Instructions:

Applicants should complete the online application and provide a letter of application and rĂŠsumĂŠ or curriculum vitae. Review of applications will begin January 6, 2020.